Closure sealing machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 13, 1950 INVENTOR JOSEPH J. FRANK w. mum m NOV. 16, 1954 J FRANK 2,694,198

CLOSURE SEALING MACHINE Filed Oct. 13. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet? '1 55 i 44: 47 L I INVENTOR.

A 4| JOSEPH J. FRANK 4 E 1 BY &

ORNEY 2,694,198 CLOSURE SEALING MACHINE Joseph James Frank, Union,N. a'ssig nor to Hercules fasteners, Inc., Elizabeth, N. L, a corporation of New ersey Application October 13, 1 950, Serial No. 189,925 18 Claims. (Cl. 1-200) This invention relates to-a machine for sealing constrictions in flexible casings. Anew method of sealing such constrictions is set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 189,924.

- This invention relates to a machine for applying such fasteners.

The invention also relates to machines which both seal constrictions in flexible casings and trim the casing. The invention also includes novel dies and novel cutting means operating in combination.

It has been customary to prepare sausages composed of ground foodstuffs in flexible transparent casings and to enclose products such as cosmetics and toiletries and even medicines in flexible tubes. However, there have been severe limits to the extent to which such tubes could be used, these limits. extending both to matters of size and to the nature of the material. Prior to the invention of the barrel fastener there was no satisfactory mechanical method of sealing a tube such as regenerated cellulose upon fatty or oily ingredients. Hermetical sealing could be obtained, generally speaking, only by the laborious and unsanitary method of hand tying with string. At the present time, it is desired to package large articles of foodstuff, such as poultry, in bags, to evacuate the bags and seal them hermetically. It is desired to present a fast and easy method of sealing such bags and tubes, requiring fewer movements by the operator, and applicable not only at the ends but at constricted mid portions of tubes.

The present machine, in cooperation with the fastener described in my said copen'ding case is effectual to seal constrictions in flexible casings without damaging the casing. It simultaneously seals the constriction and trims it.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the new machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view partly in section;

' Fig; 3 is a detail showing the completion of the stroke;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the upper die;

Fig. 5 is a sideelevational view of the upper die;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of thelower die;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the lower die;

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view of the lower shear;

Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of the lower shear;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a novel fastener useful inthe machine; and, I v, V

' Fig. 11 is an elevational view of the lower die housing.

Referring now to the numerals in the drawing, 10 indicates generally a C-shaped frame having a lower limb 11 and an upper limb 12 from which a supporting yoke 13 .projects upwardly receiving apivoted lever 14.upon a shaft 15 mounted in the yoke. The 'lever ,14 is connected by link 16 to lever 17 pivoted upon the C frame 10 and to link 18 which is attached to a yoke 19 at the upper end of plunger 20, which is received in an appropriate bearing in the upper limb of the C 'frame. In operating the machine a foot pedal, a motor or the like, is connected to the lever 17 and operates the plunger 20 through the described linkage. The plunger 20 has at its lower enda recess 21 which receives a stud 22 (Fig. 4) forming apart of the upper dieblock 23. The stud 22 has a flattened groove 24 cut into its side whlch is engaged by a set screw 25 in the plunger 20. By means of the set screw and flattened groove the 'die block is maintained improper alignment inthe plunger.

' The die block 23 has, somewhere along its mid length, teena e flan wh ch serve an abutm n f r Patented Nov. 16,

"ice

2. thezlower end of the plunger 20. In alignment with the stud and projecting below the flange 26 is the die 27 which has a lower face provided with parallel grooves 2.8,. 29. between which is a septum 30 which extends. slightly below the outer edges of the grooves. The flange- 261s. extended downwardparallel to the axis of the die 27, forming a shear member 31 terminating in a knife edge 32. Strength is -added.to the shear member by the conformation 33. which joins it with the flange. A groove 34. spaces the shear from the .die at their lower en s.

..:The path of .the shear blade as it is reciprocated by plunger 20 may be treated as occurring in a vertical plane. The '.face.35 of the shear blade preferably lies at an angle of.2. to 3?. to that plane. The lower. face 36 of theshear blade is. inclined at about 75 to that plane or at. 15

' being somewhat enlarged at 43.

to .a planewhich contains the septum and the knife edge.

. The lower limb 11.of the 0 frame terminates in a cylindricalv support 40 which is screw threaded through the bottom at 41 and bored from the top at 42, the bore The support receives the lower die housing 44 which is cylindrical and fits the upper portionof the bore 42. It has a flattened part 45 which serves to accept a pin 46 which is passed through the support 40. The flattened portion 45 is long enough to permit the housingto be moved vertically to accomplish an adjustment of the parts of the die while maintaining the original angular position of theparts. In the lower part of the die housing, on the opposite side from the area 45 isa slot 47 which permits the introduction of key 48, -to be held in place by a screw 49 and washer 50. A'groove 51 receives the inner edge of the key 48 and maintains the lower die in correct angular position while permitting it to be moved vertically. The upper portion of the die housing is extended to form a shoulder 55 which may rest upon the upper face 56 of the support 40 orv not, depending upon the adjustment of the screw 57 which is screw'threaded in hole 41 and bears at its end 58 upon the bottom of the die housing. At one side the shoulder 55 is extended upward at 59 to form a brace for the lower shear. The brace is screw threaded at 60 to receive a bearing set screw 61 having a conical point 62.

be. lower shear 63 is preferably a separate member of generally rectangular outline but provided at its upper side with a notch 64 forming guides 65, 66 and having a semicircular bottom 67 which is tilted at 75 to the face 68, which is at 90 to the plane offace 69 upon which the blade rests during operation. The lower corners 70 and 71 are rounded oif and the face 72 is reduced toward the bottom so as to provide an angle of about 3 to a. plane through the knife edge parallel. to face 68. This gives a cutting edge in the notch 67 of 18. The upper portion of face 72, that is of guides 65, 66 is rounded at 7 The foregoing construction of the lower shear permits the shear to have limited free or universal motion around the point of set screw 61 which is engaged with a conical depression 74 in the back of the shear. The limitation on the universality of motion is that the base 69 prevents the shear from rotating around the axis of the pin 61. Thisfloating mounting of shear is of material importance as it serves for automatic alignment of the shears during each cutting operation.

. The shear 63 rests on a ledge 75 between the brace 59 and a transversely extending groove 76 in the top of die housing 44.

. The lower die block has a rod80 which fits into the socket 81 in the lower portion of the die housing. In the side of the rodis the groove 51 which receives the key 48 which maintains the angular position of the rod and limits the extent of itsvertical motion. Upon the rod is a piston 82. which fits the upper portion of the bore of the :die housing. A spring 84 bears at its upper end on the bottom of the piston and at its lower end on the die housing. The piston and the die which it supports are consequently capable of being moved vertically to the extent permitted by the key '48 and groove 51 while being maintainedin proper vertical alignment at all times by the snug fitof the piston and the rod-in their respective portions of the, bore. Uponthe piston is mounted the die 85 which has at its lower part an external dimension fitting the groove 76 in the housing but maintained in an elevated position above the bottom of said groove by the action of spring 84. The die is provided with a recess 86 which receives the die 27 and has at its bottom a rounded anvil 87 which receives the new fasteners of my invention and cooperates with the upper die to apply them as shown in Fig. 3. Below the anvil the die extends toward the position of the shear 63, and the dimensions of the parts is such that when the set screw 61 is adjusted the shear makes light contact at its face 73 with the rear adjacent face 88 of the die block. A shoulder 89 on the block is, in raised position, on a level with the knife edge of the shear.

In operation a fastener of the type shown in Fig. 10, having a flattish body portion conforming to the shape of the anvil at the bottom and to the sides of the recess thereabove, is provided with outstanding flanges which engage over the anvil and over the sides of the recess, and has slightly inturned, blunt and curved ends which are largely free from flanges. This fastener 90 is placed in the anvil, a constriction 91 is formed in the neck of the bag 92, for instance by twisting, and placed in the fastener. The machine is actuated, the upper die moves downward under the thrust of the plunger and the operating linkage, enters the recess 86, engages the inturned ends of the fastener with grooves 28, 29, reverses them and drives them into the neck of the constriction. In all normal sealing circumstances the piston yields and is moved downward before rupture of the material can occur. As the piston moves downward the upper shear 31 and the lower shear 63 are brought into action and cut off the projecting end of the bag which falls out of the machine. The machine returns to its original position and the sealed bag is removed and the operation repeated on another bag. The lower shear is self adjusting to the extent described. The adjusting screw 57 makes it possible to alter the position of the lower die and shear when vertical adjustment becomes necessary.

An advantage of the invention is in simultaneously sealing and trimming a constriction in a tube or bag and in the cooperation of the trimming and sealing parts of the apparatus, which, because of their cooperative construction, are always in proper alignment for the most effective action. Another advantage of the invention is, in the particular method of sealing as carried out by the machine. This machine effects the sealing of a flexible member by producing internal pressure, by the blunt ends of the fastener, which distends the material toward the encompassing fastener body. This distending and internal compressionby a. horseshoe fastener, without rupturing the material fastened, is a new method of sealing and is claimed as such in my copending application Serial No. 189,924. The machine is comparatively simple, has relatively few parts, and those parts are also comparatively simple and are easily made at moderate cost.

As, many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereon, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments.

What is claimed is:

1. A sealing machine comprising opposed die means and compression means to bring them together, one said die means including a first die block having a stud adapted for attachment to said compression means, a

flange projecting outward from the mid length of the block, a die projecting from said stud and having a die face comprising contiguous parallel grooves with a septum extending slightly beyond the plane of the outer edges of the grooves, a shear extending from the flange to the level of the die face, slightly inclined from the parallel, and spaced at its cutting edge from the die face, a second die block having a piston, a rod, and a die on the piston having parallel sides joined by a semicircular face aligned with. the said first die block, a. die block housing adapted for attachment to said compression means and having a bore receiving the piston and rod, a spring bearing on the piston, a brace extending from said housing, beside and spaced from said second die block and a second shear between the second die block and brace, aligned with said first shear.

2. A sealing machine comprising opposed die means and compression means to bring them together, one said die means including a flange projecting outward from the mid length thereof, a die having a die face comprising contiguous parallel grooves with a septum extending slightly beyond the plane of the outer edges of the grooves, a shear extending from the flange to the level of the die face, slightly inclined from the parallel, said other die means having a piston, and a die on the piston having parallel sides joined by a curved face aligned with the said one die means, a die means housing having means for attachment to said compression means and having a cylinder receiving the piston, a spring in (the cylinder bearing on the piston, a brace supported beside said second die means, and a second shear adjustably mounted between the second die means and brace, in

cutting alignment with said first shear.

3. A sealing machine comprising 'opjposed die means and compression means to bring them together, said die means including a first die block having a die face comprising contiguous parallel grooves, a shear supported adjacent said die face, a resiliently mounted second die, block, a die on the resiliently mounted block having a recess aligned with the said first die block, a die block housing having means for attachment to said compression means, resilient means for supporting the second die block in said housing, a brace supported by said housing, and a second shear associated with the brace.

4. A sealing machine comprising opposed die means and compression means to bring them together, said die means including a die face comprising contiguous parallel grooves, a shear about level with the die face, a resiliently mounted second die having an anvil aligned with the first die face, and a cooperating shear resiliently mounted adjacent the movable die, means.

5. A sealing machine comprising opposed die means and compression means to bring them together, opposed shear means mounted adjacent said die means, one shear means being mounted in fixed association with a said die means and the other die means being mounted beside and movably with respect to, the associated shear means, one of said die means having a the face, including a plurality of grooves and the other of said die means having a cooperating die face with a single grooye.

6. A sealing machine according to claim 5 in which one of the shear means comprises aplate supported pivotally on thebottom and universally on one side.

' means being provided with space for limited movement aboutthe pin between the brace and the die means.

8. A sealing machine according to claim 5 in which one shear means has a face and a recess intersecting the face forming a blade, said recess being tilted at about 75 to the direction of the cut. 7 V

9. A sealing and trimming achine comprising opposed die means, each of whichfis associated with cooperatingly aligned shear members, said shear memberscomprising cooperating blades one of which has a floating mount with limited pivotal movement about a pivot aligned transversely to the plane of the cut.

1D. The machine of claim 9 in which the shear members have cutting faces aligned at a small angle to the plane of the cut. V p

11. The machine of claim 10 in which the aligned faces of the shear members are tilted at about 23 to the plane of the cut. I p

12. The machine of claim 9 in which. a die means and a shear member have aligned recesses.

13. A combined die andv shear apparatus including opposed die members, shear members associated withsaid die members, one shear member being fixed with respect to its associated die member, the other shear member being displaceable with respect to. its associated. die member, said last named shear member comprising a metal piece having opposed, non-parallel sides and, a blade formed by a notch intersecting one of said sides, and bracing means for said metal piece comprising a pin having universal contact with said piece.

14-. The machine of claim 13 in which the pin is adjustable.

15. The machine of claim 13 in which the metal piece is slightly wedge-shaped by reduction of one side,

16. The machine of claim 13 in which the said metal shear member isformed in said metal piece by a notch in the edge of the plate which is inclined at less than a right angle to a side of the wedge.

17. A machine for applying and compressing circlets upon gathered flexible material that comprises opposed dies for applying and compressing such circlets, and severing means associated therewith including supporting means associated with one said die and shear means having a transversely rounded, longitudinally straight bottom supported thereby, other supporting means for said shear means having universal contact therewith, cooperating shear means associated with the other said die, and means to operate the dies and shear means.

18. In sealing means for applying metal circlets to flexible closures, compression means to apply the circlet to a closure, and shear means to sever the closure close to the compression means, said compression means ineluding a die with a recess for an open sided circlet fastener, and a cooperating die means including means to reverse the ends of the fastener and bring them into abutting position fully encircling the closure and forming a compressed circlet thereabout. 

